dsRNA ingested by bees is transferred to the Varroa mite and from mite on to a parasi

If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Re: dsRNA ingested by bees is transferred to the Varroa mite and from mite on to a pa

Sugar shake and pulling drone brood. SBB's when I have time to clean the sticky board. But the inspector and I went through 5 hives and pulled every drone brood larva and found ONE mite. I think one turned up in the sugar shake. My population is isolated, and I had an accidental brood break of about 3 weeks on the cutout hive before my nucs came, had about 5 weeks brood break on the hot hive after I killed the queen and before they requeened. My nucs were vsh bees. They've done well, bought 2, have basically 4 hives of them now. (one is at my neighbor's)

Stuck in Texas. Learning Permaculture in drought, guess I will teach permaculture in drought. The bees are still alive.

Re: dsRNA ingested by bees is transferred to the Varroa mite and from mite on to a pa

Re: dsRNA ingested by bees is transferred to the Varroa mite and from mite on to a pa

Yes this is real good...Monsanto applying for a patent...We'll see how much bees cost when your queen mates with a drone with this newly acquired Monsanto DNA and your making splits and nucs for sale. Hope you have deep pockets. For all those hoping for a godsend this is not it. You will have to pay Monsanto to raise bees and if not pay heavy fines..can you control your drone yard? Good luck!

Re: dsRNA ingested by bees is transferred to the Varroa mite and from mite on to a pa

Spark, has nothing to do with genetically altered bees or patenting bees. The patent is for the sequence(s) of dsRNA's used which target mite genes, nothing to do with bees. The bees were just a vector of the dsRNA.

Re: dsRNA ingested by bees is transferred to the Varroa mite and from mite on to a pa

It has to be commercially available for any profits to be made on it. It has to be economically feasible for a commercial out fit otherwise it will not be bought.
If you would like to compare it to other types of poducts they sell,
those products were developed and brought to the market. Economics dictated the price point and the quality of the product dictated the popularity of its use

Re: dsRNA ingested by bees is transferred to the Varroa mite and from mite on to a pa

Ian I know all about making money, I am a business owner, but thanks for the insight into how money is made. I will also base my judgement of Monsanto on it's business practices aside from their making money schemes to determine where their heart really is.

We can agree on how to make money but never on business practices that border on criminal. Anyone for some E. Coli DNA spliced salad?

Re: dsRNA ingested by bees is transferred to the Varroa mite and from mite on to a pa

I use their product. It has advanced our ability to grow food. It has made me money hand over fist. It has allowed us to practice more sustainable farming practices. It has allowed us to minimize out tillage, saving fuel, saving the soil structure, and it has cut our pesticide bill in half, it has also cut our pesticide usage by 1/3.
Bad bad Monsanto

With a little RnD now being focused on the honeybee industry, we may just see some of the same advances as we have elsewhere in agriculture in relation to disease control. RnD is what the industry has been screaming for over 10 years now.

Re: dsRNA ingested by bees is transferred to the Varroa mite and from mite on to a pa

Most folks opposed to modern farming practices and products have never been exposed to the farming practices which were common back in the 50's and 60's. The norm back then was disk, plow, disk, plant, rotary hoe, and cultivate as many as three times. Chemicals back then? Oh yeah, lots of them and usually broad spectrum pesticides that fried everything out there. Lots and lots of herbicide that washed down out of the fields when the inevitable erosion occurred from the tillage practices. The amount of fuel used per acre was incredible but in those days ag fuel was probably around .10 per gallon. Today we usually see a single no till planting pass and a couple of passes with large spraying equipment. Residue from the previous crop are allowed (in most cases) to rot into the soil. The ground is disturbed very little. Newer hybrid seed has increased yields dramatically. Argue all you want about the ethics of big business but don't deny that without the technological advances in agriculture there is no way we could produce the food needed to feed 7 billion people.

"People will generally accept facts as truth only if the facts agree with what they already believe."- Andy Rooney

Re: dsRNA ingested by bees is transferred to the Varroa mite and from mite on to a pa

Originally Posted by Ian

I use their product. It has advanced our ability to grow food. It has made me money hand over fist. It has allowed us to practice more sustainable farming practices. It has allowed us to minimize out tillage, saving fuel, saving the soil structure, and it has cut our pesticide bill in half, it has also cut our pesticide usage by 1/3.
Bad bad Monsanto

OK, some people have a beef with that - I don't

...the complaint I have - and a lot of others have, is when other people are trying to grow something different and Big Ag's pollen gets on other people's crops and other people have to shut down or get assimilated because their crops now have Big Ag's genes.

That's a hostile act by the Big Ag companies - and it is wrong. Big Ag took away someone else's rights just to protect their money.

Improve things ...no problem ...but don't stomp on what others want to do or want to grow.

Re: dsRNA ingested by bees is transferred to the Varroa mite and from mite on to a pa

but you want to take away my rights to use Big Ags crops on my land to protect your interests? Dont forget the rights of the land owners. Beekeepers dont own the rights to the use of others land. Beekeepers earn the privilege to collect the bounty from others land.

Re: dsRNA ingested by bees is transferred to the Varroa mite and from mite on to a pa

Originally Posted by Ian

but you want to take away my rights to use Big Ags crops on my land to protect your interests? Dont forget the rights of the land owners. Beekeepers dont own the rights to the use of others land. Beekeepers earn the privilege to collect the bounty from others land.

Keep your pollen within your property boundaries and off other people's crops and we'll be in agreement. You don't own the right to force others to grow your crops or to force them out of business.

Re: dsRNA ingested by bees is transferred to the Varroa mite and from mite on to a pa

beekeepers bees going on your property is a right, not a privelage. otherwise it would be an incredible abuse of the concept of property rights. you might as well say someone else looking at your property is a privelage, not a right